


Trip Switch

by RoseByAnyOtherName17



Series: The Distance [7]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Angst, First Kiss, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Rituals, attempted sacrifice
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-24
Updated: 2016-12-24
Packaged: 2018-09-11 15:12:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,068
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8993404
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RoseByAnyOtherName17/pseuds/RoseByAnyOtherName17
Summary: "Please tell me you didn't kill Bambi for this."
Derek had really been spending too much time with Stiles lately.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Here you go :D Enjoy it lovelies

When everything went dark in the library, Derek moved.

 

“It’s just a power outage,” he heard the ladies assuring some little kids in the playroom. “They’ll come back on in a moment.” There was worry and a tinge of fear radiating off of everyone in the library though as their eyes struggled to adjust. Derek let his own glow bright blue just long enough to find the doors and ensure that they were all still unlocked. He couldn’t hear anything except for the murmurs of the people around him and the honk of a car outside, but there was a scent in the air that he’d thought was perfume but seemed sweeter somehow, cloying. It hurt to breathe it in too deeply.

 

Around him, the other librarians were gently rounding up the patrons and herding them to the doors. “A fuse blew most likely,” they said, smiles in their voices. “We’ll just have to call someone to get that fixed up.” But it wasn’t electrical and the stench was growing stronger with every step until Derek could barely breathe without choking on it. By the time he made it to the doors and everyone else had exited, it was overpowering and he fell to his knees. He could see the other librarians through the window beckoning to him and trying to open the door, but he heard the click of the lock and reached for his phone.

  
“Library,” he gasped out as soon as Stiles answered. “Help.”

 

**

 

Derek had enough time to hate himself for passing out before the horrible thumping in his head registered and he groaned. The sweet smell was much fainter now and he breathed in the clean air greedily until his head cleared enough for him to realize that he was chained to a table and the sky was starry above him. It had been two in the afternoon last he’d checked the time, so it was clear he’d been out for awhile. He seemed unharmed but for the headache.

 

“Oh good, I got my dosage right,” a voice to his left said. “I was afraid for a moment it was too much. You weren’t supposed to be knocked out for this long.” She was older, in her forties maybe, hair tied back in a tight bun and eyes unnaturally green. It made his skin crawl uncomfortably.

 

Then he noticed the runes drawn on his chest in what looked suspiciously like blood. “Please tell me you didn’t kill Bambi for this,” he said. He had been spending too much time with Stiles, he thought.

 

“Thumper, actually,” she said distractedly, flipping through a book. “Bambi might have been easier. Rabbits are a bitch to catch.”

 

Derek sighed. “So what fucked up god are you sacrificing me to?”

 

“You wouldn’t know him.” She sprinkled what smelled like thyme around him. “Called for an undead former alpha though, and you know how hard those are to find? Took me months. Months! And then I had to wait for the days to line up just perfectly.”

 

“So you couldn’t have kidnapped Peter?” Derek grumbled.

 

“He’s died before. You were the only other option. Shame too, because you’re a handsome fellow.”

 

“I’m taken, but thanks.”

 

She smiled. “You’re not, but I can see why you’d like to be. Stiles is a cute guy. Powerful, too, if he would crack open a book and learn some _real_ magic. But he’s too good inside for it. Shame, really.”

 

“He’s not that good.” Derek huffed a laugh. “You should probably be scared of him.”

 

“Maybe if he had any idea where you were, I would be.” She was drawing a knife across her own arm now, and then Derek’s so that the blood mingled together on the blade. His skin began to knit itself together almost immediately, but he watched her let the blood drip into a small fire a few feet away, far enough that he couldn’t feel the heat. The flames went purple and she smiled happily. “Perfect. Almost ready.”

 

Derek howled loud enough for the pounding in his head to turn so horrible he thought he might vomit, and she laughed even as another howl echoed back. “You think they can help you? It’s too late. Another minute and you’ll be dead.” She began to chant over him, a ball of purple flames in her palm and her words twisting straight into his chest. He arched up and choked out blood and was just happy it wouldn’t last long.

 

There was the crack of a gun, and her voice cut off with a shriek as she collapsed to the ground. Derek breathed and the chains on his wrists snapped off as Liam twisted a claw into the lock. “It’ll take me less time to kill you,” Stiles said calmly, stepping out of the trees. “And you should give me a good reason why I shouldn’t right now, before I put the next bullet in your head.”

 

“It’ll make you a killer,” she said raggedly, clutching her bleeding leg.

 

“I’ve already killed people,” Stiles said, voice hard. “Try again.”

 

“Your alpha won’t stand for it!”

 

“He isn’t my alpha anymore.” Stiles kept the gun pointed to her, but slipped an arm around Derek’s waist as he sat up and swung his legs over the side of the table, shaking hard. I still don’t get why I should let you go.”

 

“It doesn’t matter if you kill me,” she said. “I have a coven. They’ll finish what I started. They’ll want revenge for me.”

 

Derek leaned heavily against Stiles, eyes closed, but he managed to whisper, “Don’t kill her.”

 

The gun dropped immediately. “The Argent family lives here,” Stiles told her, and her face went even paler. “Well, Chris Argent does. His whole family died, you see, and he’s grown ruthless in the past few years. I’d let your _coven_ know, and if you ever come back, he’ll be one of the first to know, if I don’t get to you first. Now get out.”

 

“My leg…”

 

“Not my problem.” Stiles gripped Derek firmly and pulled him up, Malia coming up on his other side. “You have till dawn to be out of Beacon Hills, Beacon County if you can swing it. I would move quickly; we’ll be monitoring you.” Derek let Stiles and Malia support him out of the preserve, slowly gathering his strength until he could stand on his own again. Malia let him go, but Stiles kept an arm around his waist until the Jeep came into view. Scott was leaning against it, eyes hard.

 

“You didn’t call me,” he said to Malia.

 

“No time,” she replied. “Stiles had a plan and he knew where Derek was.”

 

“How?” Derek asked Stiles.

 

Stiles looked him in the eye. “Same way you knew where I was back in Chicago. I knew something was happening before you even called me. Sorry it took so long to actually get to you. She had some warding magic up that I had to get through first.”

 

“I’m the alpha, you’re supposed to call me when this stuff happens!” Scott said angrily. “What if the plan hadn’t worked?”

“Oh, like leaving Liam as bait for the harpy?” Stiles shot back. Derek could feel him shaking with rage. “Letting me and Derek walk in blind?” Scott blinked in shock and opened his mouth, but Stiles barreled on. “We’re _worried_ about you, Scott! This isn’t you, letting people get into unnecessary danger like that! Making me go all the way to fucking Chicago is where it started! I know I fucked up big time in your eyes, but I did everything I could to make it up to you! Lydia got it, Malia got it, Liam got it, but you never did!”

 

“I never wanted anyone to get hurt,” Scott said quietly. “I never meant to hurt you.”

“Well you did.” Stiles swallowed. “Look, a witch was trying to sacrifice Derek. I shot her in the leg and gave her until dawn to get out of Beacon Hills. If you want to help her, do it, but make it clear what’s waiting for her and her coven if she comes back.”

 

“You’re different.”

 

“So are you.” Stiles guided Derek to the passenger seat to the Jeep and then swung into the driver’s side. Derek glimpsed a flash of red eyes and a guilty Liam before they pulled away.

 

**

 

Stiles didn’t seem able to keep his hands off of Derek.

 

Not in the dirty way, though Derek really wouldn’t have minded. But Stiles’ heartbeat was going at it like a jackrabbit now that they were alone in his bedroom, sheriff snoring down the hall, and his eyes were wide with worry as he scrubbed the symbols from Derek’s abdomen with a wet, soapy cloth. Derek didn’t protest, just let himself be taken care of until his skin was unmarred and the wild look left Stiles’ face. It turned into soft concern instead as he looked Derek over. “Did she hurt you anywhere else?”

 

“She knocked me out with some strain of wolfsbane at the library and cut my arm to mix our blood for the ritual,” Derek told him, showing Stiles the already-healed skin. He took the washcloth from Stiles’ limp hands and rinsed it in the bathroom sink before putting it in the laundry hamper. “I’m okay,” he said softly when Stiles still didn’t say anything. He hadn’t spoken a word directly to Derek since he’d found him, and now he looked like he couldn’t speak at all. “Stiles.”

 

Stiles shook his head and wordlessly moved to throw on some pajama pants and a t-shirt. Derek changed into sweats and an old shirt himself, and when he sat on the edge of the bed again Stiles pushed and pulled at him until he was on his side facing the wall, Stiles spooned up behind him. He felt Stiles’ nose pressed behind his ear, breathing in and out slowly, deeply, heart starting to go back to normal. Their fingers twined against Derek’s chest and he couldn’t help falling asleep like that.

 

**

 

“I care about you,” Stiles said suddenly the next morning. He set down his coffee mug and turned to face Derek as he came downstairs, shirtless and scrubbing his hair with a towel.

 

Derek blinked. “I care about you too.” This had been established, he was sure, and yet Stiles was coming toward him and wrapping his arms around him, barely giving Derek any chance to hug him back before stepping away again. “Are you okay?”

 

“Yeah, I just figured I should probably hug you because last night scared me half to death and I’d rather not have you die without knowing that I kind of love you a little, and kind of love that you’ve been sharing my bed for months and will continue to do so when we move in with Lydia, and if that’s the last hug I get then at least I got it.” He narrowed his eyes. “Actually, I probably should be worried about the sharing the room and bed thing more than a hug.”

 

“That would make a little more sense,” Derek agreed, setting the towel down and filling up his own mug with coffee to hide his grin.

 

“Yeah,” Stiles said, and when Derek turned around he was running a hand through his hair. “Anyways, just thought you should probably know that, in case one of us dies or something.”

 

“I appreciate it,” Derek told him, pressing a quick kiss to Stiles’ temple just so he could hear that heartbeat ratchet up almost immediately.

 

“Cool,” Stiles answered, and followed him to the living room. “Would you mind if we took a nap later? Some magic was used last night and I’m still kind of tired out from it.” Derek whirled around so quickly that Stiles didn’t have time to stop and he used to momentum to kiss the other hard on the mouth. Stiles sighed and lifted a hand to Derek’s waist, thumb smoothing over his hip. It didn’t take him any time at all for him to kiss back, lightly pulling on Derek’s bottom lip with his teeth and kissing him softly before stepping back. “I’m serious about the nap,” he whispered in the space between their lips, so Derek kissed him again and muttered, “I know,” as he set down his mug and pushed Stiles toward the stairs.


End file.
